Alex Salmond booed by crowd in Glasgow

Alex Salmond was booed yesterday by a crowd in Glasgow. Picture: Getty.

Roman emperors famously used to have a slave to ride behind them in their chariots during victory parades to remind them, by whispering in their ear, that they were only mortal.

Alex Salmond must have experienced something of the same down-to-earth experience yesterday evening when he was booed by a crowd in Glasgow that had come to celebrate Britain’s Olympic success.

The First Minister can’t have liked it very much. It can’t be a pleasant experience for anybody to get booed by a crowd but for Mr Salmond, it must have been galling.
This was a Scottish crowd in Scotland’s biggest city, a country Mr Salmond regards as his fiefdom, where he commands a handsome majority and where he believes – until yesterday that is – that is really very popular.

To say it would have pricked the bubble of his pomposity, just for a bit, would be an understatement.

But the First Minister shouldn’t have been too surprised by his reception in Glasgow. After all, this was a crowd that had come together to celebrate British success.

Men, women and children in the 10,000-strong crowd were waving Union Flags, the scene was awash with red, white and blue. This was a group of people who had come together to celebrate British sporting success – yes, with Scottish athletes – but it was largely a British-supporting crowd.

They would not have forgotten how churlish and grumpy the SNP Government had been to the Olympics right from the moment London was awarded the Games.
Many of them would know that it took only one minute for the first snippy SNP press release warning that Scotland might not get its “fair share” from the Games to be sent off to journalists after the announcement was made awarding the Games to London back in 2005.

Since then, SNP ministers have been models of gripe and grievance, complaining of a lack of contracts going to Scottish companies, of Scotland missing out on lottery funding and of too much being spent on London and the South East.
Indeed, according to one source close to the organising committee, the Scottish Government has shown little more than disinterest all the way through the process of getting the Games up and running.

It has been clear to anyone close to Scottish politics that the Scottish Government’s whole approach to the Olympics has smacked of meanness and ill-will.

So, for Alex Salmond to try to ride in and try to bask in the success of Scottish athletes at those Games – well, it was no wonder he was booed.

It will have made the First Minister uncomfortable, that’s for sure. It would almost certainly, though, made him angry too – I wouldn’t have liked to be one of his aides after he came off that podium last night as he has developed quite a reputation for having fearsome temper when riled.

But it would have also reminded him that, even in Scotland, he can’t and won’t get everything his own way.

Yes, it was Glasgow, still the most Labour and, as such the most anti-SNP, city in Scotland but it was a reminder that there is still a long way to go before the referendum and the First Minister does not command universal popularity in Scotland – far from it, in fact.

It will have also delighted Mr Salmond’s opponents who would have been chortling long into the night at his discomfort. And that may not be a bad thing: they have had precious little to smile about for quite some time.

UPDATE: The below picture, from George Square in Glasgow, is the a vision from Salmond’s nightmares. Instead of ‘Scolympians’ being greeted by Saltires, British Olympians are welcomed by Scots with Union flags.

This article confuses me…perhaps some clever photography but I can assure you the majority of flags were Saltires! Better Together hijacking I think!

terregles2

Salmond got a warm reception in Glasgow compared to the last time Tony Blair was at the City Halles he had to be smuggled out of the back door because the demonstrators were so hostile. You will always get supporters of a certain football team to wave the Union flag any time any where. What a pathertic attempt to try and make that into something it was not.

michael monaghan

yes i see the glasgow people booing but you have to think give a glasgow person a bottle of wine and a giro and they will boo anybody if we the scots cant run scotland then lets give it away to the english as they have not got the brains to do it i just wish the so called scots who say we cant run the country will go and live down in england and let the real scots get on with it

Maidmarrion

Ah! Coffee House dislikes criticism does it?
I repeat why is this disingenuous article allowed to remain here for 12 days?
Much has happened since an orchestrated booing – drowned out by cheers – in George square.
Notably an independently organised march for Scotland which , though quietly publicised ,attracted 10,000 Scots of all ages and all political persuasions.
Huge cheers greeted the speakers from the First Minister of Scotland to Dennis Cavanan to Margo MacDonald to Patrick Harvey to Allan Grogan wonderful speeches , wonderful music and a most joyous occasion.
Yet we have this spiteful little article about a minor and petty event ,blown out of all proportion ,exaggerated well beyond its effect – so much so that the well known
” impartial” broadcaster could not be persuaded to cover it.
Scotland has moved on – it would seem the Spectator has not.

Maidmarrion

I am astounded that this spiteful , inaccurate piece is still here- it was so small a
” concerted” effort that it was not mentioned by a broadcaster who is intent on preserving all things Labour.
No mention about the “independent” independence rally ?
Too well supported and enthusiastic for the likes of Macdonnell , Cochrane and co.?
Amazingly huge cheers for the First Minister of Scotland ,Margo McDonald,Dennis Cavanan ,Allan Grogan ,Patrick Harvey and the great bands ,not to mention the Dougie McLean slot with ” Caledonia” – better not tell the world eh?
But emphasise the negative ,exaggerate the petty and spiteful , stick fingers in ears and la- la all things positive.
Scotland deserves better than these media manipulators .

http://twitter.com/drgs100 drgs100

Please take a look at the picture again. Scots are waving Union flags AND Saltires.

Maidmarrion

Well he sure was cheered to the saltire blue sky in Edinburgh on Saturday – an independence rally which exceeded the organisers expectation , but virtually ignored by the Scottish media .I find the misrepresentation in the MSM quite astonishing when it comes to the popularity of the First Minister ,he is clearly well liked and very comfortable in his own skin.On Saturday he spoke well as did Margo McDonald ,Dennis Canavan,and many others.Good music ,good company and good spirits.
Bur what do we get from the media ? Crap like this,”Alex Salmond booed by crowd in Glasgow”
Where were you on Saturday Mr Macdonnell?

Craig P

Not the first time Salmond has been booed. Has happened at Hampden before a Scotland football game as well. If it is any consolation (though I don’t think any consolation is required!), I can’t think of any current politician who *wouldn’t* get booed at an event like this in Scotland.

chrisglas

Hahaha oh my god?!!, was anyone there apart from me!, let me just say I am no die hard nationalist!

But there was maybe 25 people who booed, who were all clearly there together??!

And the flags there must have been 25 Saltires to 1 Union Jack!!, AT LEAST!

The booers even got told a few things in shall we say more harsh tones than they used by other members of the crowd.

William

If the expression ‘pride before a fall’ has any truth to it, then Salmond has a massive fall to come.

Hilda Stearn

Proud to read of genuine pride of being part of the successful TeamGB.

abystander

100,000 turned out to watch Hearts parade the Scottish Cup.
How many old women and wee girls turned up for this nonsense?

Auldreekie

I’ve just watched the youtube video. The reported booing was only by some of the crowd; there were at least as many cheering.

Auldreekie

Of course there are people who would boo Alex Salmond, and of course Hamish MacDonell would want to write an article about it. Every unionist in Scotland hopes that the SNP will be defeated in every election: the lowest amongst them abuse Salmond at every opportunity, and he has no illusions about the limits of his popularity. The mistake here is MacDonell’s effort to place some significance on it, as though the booing reflected a Scotland-wide dwindling of support for the Nasty Nats, and a resurgence of British loyalty. But those who booed would have comprised the fervent Brits amongst the 2.5 million resident in the Glasgow area – and would have included many of the Orange Lodge/Ulster Loyalist/Rangers FC type, to whom the Union flag is a religious icon, and Salmond is the devil incarnate. The crowd was self-selected to a high degree, not one representative of Scottish opinon.

Jack Nixon

A sign of things to come for Wee Eck? Jack from Aberdeen

Action_Man

The truth is the west of Scotland (i.e the Strathclyde area) has been cooling towards Mr Salmond for a while now. There is a sense that he has gotten too big for his boots which offends west of Scotland “ah kent his faither” sensibilities. And that’s why the SNP won’t win the referendum. They need to win in the electoral regions of Glasgow, Central Scotland and west of Scotland to get to 50%. Perhaps this is why they appointed Sturgeon minister for independence in the hope that her personal brand remains strong in that region.

I found little to disagree with – not the same as saying I agree with Robert Spencer on everything.

Maidmarrion

Sadly this so called journailist knows that what he has written is untrue.
The wondrous plethora of union flags was thanks to the interested parties distribution of 1000 flags.
He also knows that an orchestrated band of booers were to be ” thanked” for this asinine article.
It is utterly shameful that a number of poor quality articles written by questionable journalist is all that is available to Scotland and Scots.
Have they any shame ? Can they look at themselves in the mirror with a sense of pride in a job well and honestly done? Nah!
I do hope some of the notable “shite and spite “writers have bolt holes south of the border for the time is a coming when they might just need them.
As the ” quality” press sinks further down the circulation figures there may be no-one for whom these churnalists could work – if thats what they call it.

http://www.the-cameron-coalition.co.uk FredDibnahsLoveChild

“I do hope some of the notable “shite and spite “writers have bolt holes
south of the border for the time is a coming when they might just need
them.”

Spoken like a true Nat – dissenters are evil and must be banished from our Kingdom!

You can’t hide from the truth – 100s of social media messages don’t lie.

You had better get used to the booing, for the more people learn of Salmond’s lunatic independence “plan”, the more people will see him for the snake-oil salesman he really is.

Maidmarrion

Not a “Nat” just a pissed off Scot who reads the drivel ,misinformation and downright lies inflicted on the people of Scotland and thinks a day of reckoning is approaching.
I’d be very surprised if English folk didn’t begin to realise that they are ill served by many in the media .
P.S there is nothing ” lunatic” about independence – countries of the world consider it a natural state while retaining the Royal family too ,perhaps you hadn’t noticed.

http://www.the-cameron-coalition.co.uk FredDibnahsLoveChild

‘there is nothing ” lunatic” about independence’

I agree, but Salmond’s form of “independence” isn’t independence. Its the worst of all worlds. The sooner people realise this the better.

Jay

The bettertogether campaign arranged this so this the unionist numbers lol pathetic unionists accuse the SNP of narrow nationalism but the unionists have the heading realscotstogether what hypocrites at least the yes campaign did not use that kind of narrow nationalism snp got a majority because they got a majority minority complex unionists r funny

http://www.the-cameron-coalition.co.uk FredDibnahsLoveChild

This is excellent. Its about time Salmond’s lies and half-baked plan for independence are brought to the fore.

He says an independent Scotland with join the EU but keep the pound. Is he mad? Has he learned nothing from from the Eurozone – currency union without political union does not work! So Scotland’s laws will be set by the EU and their fiscal programme will be set from London. What form of independence is this?!

He says he’ll join Nato but remain anti-nuclear. What a complete idiot! You don’t get into Nato for free and about the only things he’ll have to offer is the submarine facilities on the west coast.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if the US vetoed Scotland’s NATO application – they’re still angry about Al Megrahi. And incidentally, just why was Al Megrahi released so early? The SNP maintain it was entirely on compassionate grounds, But I suspect the attraction of a friendly rich Arab oil-producing state who might be predisposed to an easy loan to tide them over post-independence had something to do with it.

—

Eddie, Do some research mate, Scotland contributes more than it’s share to the Union and made a huge contribution to the UK’s balance of payments over the years. Remember RBS employs 1000′s of English, Welsh and Irish staff (probably more than Scots) so the bailout benefits the UK as a whole. Check the facts.

William, Duke of Cumberland

Ah, the old “Scots contribute more to the UK than they take out” crap. Well you certainly contributed plenty of unwelcome Labour politicians. How could we ever forget all the Labour dross out of Scotland bringing their “wealth” of misery to us. Having screwed the UK it’s only to be expected that you now want to cut and run to smooch with Barroso and that communist frog. Good riddance and God speed.

http://www.the-cameron-coalition.co.uk FredDibnahsLoveChild

I generally try to ignore rants with no argument, but could not resist pointing this out: Brown cheered at London Olympics, Osborne and May booed. Clearly your views are not shared by all of your countrymen.

William, Duke of Cumberland

So is that an argument? Those who cheered and booed were a huge crowd of Labour activists and their clients. Do bears shit in the woods?

Eddie

And let’s not forget, eh, that Andy Murray played for Britain at the Olympics (and in effect at Wimbledon too, according to rules, though all players just represent themselves rather than nations really) and that he has been sponsored for over 10 years by Royal Bank of Scotland.
RBS was bailed out by English money in 2008 (it would have collapsed otherwise and Scotland would have ended up like Iceland) – so the ‘Scottish’ success was actually largely funded by English taxpayers’ money.
Just like the Scottish health service and education system and care homes then eh?
Slimeball Salmond should be reminded at every opportunity that it has been English money that has paid for Scottish Olympic champions – and which bailed out the bankrupt Scottish banking sector.

dercavalier

Iceland is doing a lot better than the UK now. Before lifting pen and writing dumb comments, engage brain, if one available. Scottish Banking Sector does not exist. All Banks in UK are UK Banks. And “English money” is UK money of which 9.5% is received from Scotland with a population of only 8%.

Eddie

Without English subsidy – Scotland gets 10% more than the northern English receive in public spending – and the English taxpayers bailing out RBS, then Scotland (whose SNP leaders, don’t forget, would have joined the Euroe if they’d been fully independent) would be as screwed as Ireland now.
As for Iceland. Yes, they are doing better. In the same way Libya is doing better now. Or Germany in the autumn of 1945…
Might I suggest you do some research – engage your brain instead of writing yet more Scots nationalist lies.
The people in Scotland who earn the cash do NOT support the SNP – whose stronghold is drunk Glaswegian navvies and Western catholics of Irish descent who hate the English. The Highlands and Islands, the Border country, the people who live in the nice places and contribute, do NOT want full independence.
Personally, I hope Scotland’s subsidy is cut – it is morally wrong that people in Wales and England suffer (for example in lower health spending and education and elderly care costs) because of Scottish greed. If the situations were reversed, any decent Scot would be livid at the injustice of the present arrangement, as you well know.
It should be made law that two thirds of Scots have to vote YES for there to be independence. If the English had a say, Scotland would probably be chucked out of the Union though: most are sick and tired of Scottish whingeing, all while those north of the border get way more subsidy than them! A gutfull, in fact.

dercavalier

Have you escaped from a lunatic asylum? I haven’t read such a load of ill-constructed nonsense for a long time. If I were you I’d go to the Yahoo site where such distorted english seems to be the norm.

Eddie

No, that would be Alex Salmond. Read the bull and lies in any Scottish Nationalist propaganda to see the biggest load of ill-constructed nonsense ever.
You may well not agree with my opinions or the economic facts I relate, but your calling my posts ill-constructed just shows your anti-English bias, frankly. Racist prat.

me

Its a bit tiresome hearing poor Andy Murray being held up as pro brittish whatever his view on independence is which i believe has never been publicized he does feel that he identifies as being Scottish.

Scotbrit

Why can’t people see that the ‘cheering’ that came after the booing was directed at the next person announced … I was there , and I wasn’t near the front. The booing was widespread get over it and stop making stuff

Eddie

Hilarious! Salmond is a slimeball through and through, and just a good old-fashioned bigot really – though he doesn’t hate blacks or Jews, (though I doubt he’s a big gay fan), he just hates the English with vicious racism! His distasteful attempt to lay claim on all athletes from Scotland competing under the British flag smacks of desperation.
It was an Olympics in England where British atheletes competed for Britain – not England, Scotland or Wales. I can say that in Wales people were merrily waving Union flags where the torch came here – the Welsh nationalists have so little support here outside the usual countryside strongholds.
The Olympics, the Jubilee, the banking crisis – all have shown most Scottish people that absolute independence is just like one of those whisky-soaked Saturday night fantasies down the pub where you start talking about chucking in your job and joining the circus to become a lion tamer…

Frank P

My apologies for h-jacking your thread Sebastian – but isn’t it time someone started the debate here? Or have the lawyers declared it a no-go area?

Hexhamgeezer

Yes – isn’t it disgraceful that a few malcontents dared besmirch Big Al. After all he’s consistently been a ray of Olympic sunshine ungrudgingly backing the games showing the doubters and gainsayers the the meaning of statesmanship.
Mark my words, the Tartan Titan will have the last laugh as he leads his resurgent country to a new dawn.
Back the Big Man – the North of England (especially the off-licences) says “Go Alex! and take all of your oil money convert and it to Euros and keep your share of the National Debt and and show us English how it’s done”

dercavalier

How would you know what the “off licences” think. Geordies can’t read or write so how could there be notices with anything written on them? And by the way Geordies are not considered to be English by the English?

http://twitter.com/CallanMeynell Callan Meynell

Speak for yourself… The final part of that response should be testimony enough to the hypocrisy of your judging of others to be illiterate: it is not a question, and so does not require a question mark.
‘Trolling’ and insensitivity are one thing – grammatical errors are quite another, however.

dercavalier

Very true! It WAS a question before I edited it to the final version. How remiss of me. Is the exclamation mark OK?

Hexhamgeezer

So what if we can’t read or rite? Does that invalidate our opinions, gathered as they are from the tsunami of verbal charm that is Alex and Nicola?
I’ve always liked going to Scotland and it will be even better when you get independence especially in the SNP heartlands which are so welcoming to 3rd worlders like us.
PS.As for not being English don’t you mean Norman vassals? I believe we are predominantly Saxon with some Norse. And we’ll be wanting Edinburgh back by the way.
PPS. Liberation for Orkney and Shetland next. It’s about time they were allowed freedom from the Edinburgh yoke.

Daniel Maris

Judging by the way they speak, I assume Geordies speak a variant of Old Norse.

Fergus Pickering

I think Geordie speech is quite charming. Far more so than my North London whine.

Hexhamgeezer

Some of the words translate well with Norweigan as does soem pharsing and tone.

Hexhamgeezer

try ‘some’ and ‘phrasing’

Daniel Maris

I think the Scots will be far better off when independent. They have always been an industrious people. They’ll go about it seriously I think. They have so much land, and so many energy resources (wind, wave, hydro) I don’t think they can fail.

(Please don’t confuse admiring with liking BTW)

Fergus Pickering

Yes. The industrious Scots bugger off to England, as they have since the days of Dr Johnson. As I did, come to that.

dercavalier

Quite untrue. Those who bugger off to England can’t cut it in Scotland,
and you claim you did that. Really!? How strange a few posts later you write … “I think Geordie speech is quite charming. Far more so than my North London whine”
So what are you? A liar? a plastic Jock? Or a pretendy Scot?

William, Duke of Cumberland

Whatever he is you are a rude, Anglophobe, chauvinistic Jock who hides his racial hatred behind a veneer of nationalism.

dercavalier

Go away King Billy and get the sash around your shoulders. I’m fed up with you whining on every post I make

Fergus Pickering

I lived in Scotland from the age of 2 to the age of 5 and from the age of 8 to the age of 24. My mother was Scots. Is that Scots enough for you. Why on earth would I want to CLAIM to be a bloody Scot. I have lived in England for forty years plus the three between 5 and 8, so I think I can claim to be English. Anybody can cut it in Scotland since so many Scots are idle and/or drunk and on benefits. Where does Sean Connery live? When did he last live in Scotland?

dercavalier

Now, now, now now! You’re letting the side down (whichever side your little legs lie on today). It’s only supposed to be the Independentistas who indulge in such insulting language.

Fergus Pickering

Yes. The industrious Scots bugger off to England, as they have since the days of Dr Johnson. As I did, come to that.

Daniel Maris

I think the Scots will be far better off when independent. They have always been an industrious people. They’ll go about it seriously I think. They have so much land, and so many energy resources (wind, wave, hydro) I don’t think they can fail.

(Please don’t confuse admiring with liking BTW)

Frank P

Still

Still no post about the conflagration in the Libya,Egypt, etc.?

As there is no longer a Coffee House Wall here, I would like to duplicate what I just posted at the ‘other place’ as alternative reading to frippery about an obscure, toad-like Scottish politician:

Frank P
September 15th, 2012 – 13:18

We continue hereupon, as we have done for a decade or more on this
and other platforms, to post and link informed analysis of the of the
inexorable and accelerating threat of the global Islamic jihad, as
events unfold – augured by many on this blog and elsewhere in the
‘sphere.

What we have described – and our prognostications – are backed up by
irrefutable evidence, some of it bloody, immediate and ongoing.

Meanwhile the mainstream media in the West continues to act as the
propaganda agency of the enemy, promulgating lies about the motivation
of the mobs, marshalled by the mullahs through the Muslim Brotherhood
networks around the world, to make coordinated attacks on Western
interests in the Middle East – on the anniversary of the Twin Towers
declaration of War on the West eleven years ago this autumn week.

The politicians of the West, through their idiotic policies, continue
to finance and arm the enemy all around the Muslim world and not only
put one of our own Royal Family in harm’s way in the badlands of
unconquerable territory, but then broadcast the boasts of the Taliban
when they allegedly make an aborted attempt to assassinate him.

What is the general response of the Western ‘diplomacy’? Well … in
short, to apologise for a film-maker who depicted the life of Mohammed
accurately (albeit tackily) using the reported writings and utterances
of the child rapist himself and what is described in the ‘holy’ book of
the creed by which their murderous cult exists. Any such film was bound
to be tacky, but our laws permit such free expression, however clumsily
expressed.

However, the upshot to all this is that the film maker has now been
arrested, while numerous members of the enemy who have domiciled in
Western countries, including our own, are given column inches and screen
time to justify the jihad and promote our Dhimmitude.

The fact that had that film not been made, then some other instance
of truth and revelation on the Samizdat of the internet would have been
used to step up the jihad on September 11th, seems to have escaped the
understanding of those in ‘allied’ governments and the media, who
jointly continue to perpetrate the treasonous lie that the riots around
the world are as a result of the provocation of an amateurish Hollywood
film, rather than the ongoing strategy of the Muslim Brotherhood, a
cunning organisation that is devoted to the downfall of the “American
Hegemony”, the annihilation of the Jewry at large and Israel in
particular.

One hopes that the American electorate is not so stupid that it will
continue to allow the current traitor in the White House to remain in
office beyond his current term. The blood runs cold the thought that he
may well gull them again, as the alternative candidate in wet and
ineffectual.

As for our own government, the problem is even worse, as I see no
immediate, alternative successor to Cameron that is likely to ward off
the inevitability of a Marxist Miliband administration with a Hermann
Goering* doppelganger as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Indded, Frank. The Spec these days rivals the BBC for its anaemic dhimmitude

Wilhelm

The Spectator doesn’t do investigative journalism, it’s all about idle gossip, chit chat about personalities and speculation. It’s quite embarrassing.

Daniel Maris

I think the problem with the Spectator is that much of its writing would be fine and dandy if we weren’t facing some serious crises at home and abroad. At home we have the economic-immigration crisis. Abroad we have the coming Caliphate crisis. We now have militant Islamic regimes dominating North Africa and threatening the oil rich lands of Arabia.

Fergus Pickering

Which of course belong to us.

Daniel Maris

I’ve no interest in occupying their lands. I suggest we become energy independent, stop buying their oil and let them eat sand (or join the rest of humanity and start behaving more sensibly).

Fergus Pickering

Which of course belong to us.

Daniel Maris

I think the problem with the Spectator is that much of its writing would be fine and dandy if we weren’t facing some serious crises at home and abroad. At home we have the economic-immigration crisis. Abroad we have the coming Caliphate crisis. We now have militant Islamic regimes dominating North Africa and threatening the oil rich lands of Arabia.

Daniel Maris

Frank P – I too have raised the issue of the strange absence of any comment on this blast of cold Islamic air, this Arab Winter. The Speccie gave us probably 40 posts on the wonderful democracy movement supposedly sweeping across North Africa.

I think it’s a good idea for the plebs to take over these pointless posts and make of them a new wall. This is a much more important issue to address.

duece

i was in the square. salmond was roundly booed. i posted this on bbc but they refused to post it, “not suitable for discussion” was the reason. definitely his george osbourne moment

soosider3

rubbish, watch any of the youtube videos most hardly hear the booing

Peter Shea

“Roundly booed” means by everyone. Yet as the YouTube video shows the booing was drowned out by the cheering. So no surprise BBC binned your attempts at posting something that wasn’t accurate. Can anyone trust a word BT supporters say?

As for his George Osbourne [sic] moment (strangely repeating the lines from Labour central there I see) that happened in 2008:

But why is Salmond seem to be eating from a carton of chips on the picture at the top of this article?
Has he had them yet? His chips, that is.
Or maybe his deep-fried Mars bar and gallon of Buckfest…(which counts as healthy eating in Glasgow because the red and brown sauce is full of healthy goodness to balance the 3 kilos of lard)

dercavalier

Well, in England they consider two litres of cheap cider followed by a roll in their vomit in their town centres’ gutters, and after that a well battered, deep fried, chip butty covered in margarine to be a big night out. And it goes well with the children who live there who are fed delicacies like Smartie sandwiches before they go to school. No wonder England is sinking into the mire. It’s the increasing weight of their population. Did you know that the fattest man in the WORLD is a 58 stoner from England and that the fattest woman in the UK is welsh closely followed by a 32 stone English woman.

Stuart Eels

I expect you are sat with a can of cider in one hand a deep fried Mars bar in the other for breakfast. EVERY survey carried out shows you dear Scots to have the highest level of liver disease in the western world, now Alex is worried that when he starts introducing prohibition by price, all the south of Scotland will travel to Northern England and make our shop keepers very happy.
We’ll have to delay rebuilding Hadrians Wall or even Adrians Wall, I’m sure there were probably some Adrians in the original crew. Make sure you floss the sticky stuff out before your next cider.

dercavalier

And I suppose you are still drunk from your roll in the vomit filled gutters of your nearest town centre last night and looking forward to your first margarine encased chip butty followed no doubt by the pile of fat which describes the ‘english breakfast’ or would it be a bag of Smarties with your children, or maybe even that other english delicacy, the long thick battered and deep fried sausage made from God knows what?
And haven’t you heard? The Scots are now drinking less year on year whereas the english are drinking more and more. So you’ll need those drinking shops in the north of england for yourselves.

Stuart Eels

decavalier
come on then give me references to your claims, you seem to be so wise and all knowing it shouldn’t be a problem to list just a few, then again, I don’t really expect a racist slob, who enjoys hating we English just to have someone to hate to produce any real facts. You could start with the findings that “Scots are drinking less year on year whereas the English are drinking more and more.”
I look forward with eager anticipation to the details!

dercavalier

God! I don’t have every statistic to hand. But I’m well read; not like you. Go and read some other news sites. Broaden your outlook. Have a look at some Police Porn on TV and in U Tube, which regularly show english town centres at night. Even read accounts of violence and drunkeness therein in the Daily Hate Mail. I suppose the english riots didn’t happen in your universe? And I suppose your anti-Scottish insulting comments are just ‘banter’? Well my little man you will get the ‘banter’ back from me if you meddle with me.

Stuart Eels

Oh dear decavalier, what an ignorant person you are, you even know what’s going in your own back yard.
According to the Institute of Alcohol Studies latest report- Scotland tops UK alcohol league! the first paragragh then says it all.
Figures on alcohol consumpstion and harm show that Scotland not only remains top of the alcohol league in the UK, they also suggest Scotland has the eigth highest alcohol consumpstion level in the world. According to industry sales figures nearly 50 million litres of pure alcohol in 2007- equivalent to 11.8 litres per captia for every person over 16. This was considerably higher than England and Wales, which had an average consumption figure of 9.9 litres per capita.
I suggest that you sober up and learn to read and write, I fear nothing from you and your idiotic threats. Grow up you silly person.

In2minds

Blame Mrs Thatcher?

soosider3

I was actually in George Sqe, the only booing came from a very small number of Union Jack wavers who had pushed themselves to the front of the crowd, shame really that they should besmirch what was a great day celebrating our athletes. If anything it is perhaps indicative of how a small number of people seem can steal the limelight from where it should be, shame on them.

bondi1000

The author means ‘uninterest’, not ‘disinterest’, although the article suggests neither.

dercavalier

He wasn’t booed by “the crowd”. I was there. He was booed by a small clique of Bitter Together Union supporters who were trying to rain on the Parade; and the boos were lost in the sound of the cheering crowd. But how mean spirited are the Britnats? More determined to try and score points against Alex Salmond than to be cheering the athletes. How disgustingly rude. And McDonnell is no better because he knows the truth too.

Nicholas

As an impartial observer what exactly is the difference between the Bitter Together Union supporters and the Bitter Together nationalist supporters? They both seem pretty bitter and twisted.

dercavalier

Ah! The difference is quite simply that the Independentistas are not in a Coalition of Bitterness.

Nicholas

No they have enough bitterness all on their own.

dercavalier

Nicholas:
“… No they have enough bitterness all on their own…”
They don’t appear to be the words of an ‘impartial observer’ to me.

Nicholas

That’s because you don’t understand the sequence of the comments. Or maybe you think your comment after mine doesn’t sound bitter too? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but as I watch this sad story unfold most of the bitterness seems to be with those demanding independence – although I admit it swings between that and triumphalism.

yup, and the comments so far on that video from Glasgow’s ‘loyalist’ element tell you all you need to know about who and why a certain ‘order’ coordinated yesterday’s ‘hijack’.
The BitterTogether campaign has brought together Labour, Tory, LibDem, BNP and Orange Order under one union flag umbrella.
Nice.

dercavalier

…..failed “hijack”….

Redneck

Yes for Scotland

What is so wrong with being British?

A very pathetic, pejorative conflation of those thought extremist by anti-British mhutants to vindicatate their own republican, extremist view.
As Nicholas has said repeatedly, a very typical usage of hate-speech-key-words to win your argument.
If you lot get your way we’ll very quickly see how Scotchland degenerates into a third world migrant sump.
Whom will we blame for our woes when your anti-British crutch is removed?

William, Duke of Cumberland

Yes, it was a good booing alright.

Peter Shea

I heard Salmond deployed a crack Praetorian Guard so vicious was the anger of the baying crowd.

Then again, maybe not. Fraser promised us “details” in this article. Where’s the detail that he was cheered at the end of his speech?

Hamish, when did you decide to stop informing readers of the full facts and decide to parrot Twitter traffic from Better Together?

You used to write quiet well for the Scotsman. Didn’t always agree with you but you did give the full facts.

wrinkledweasel

Some commenters appear to differ, with examples. This vaccuous diatribe is surely not because the Speccy is anti-SNP is it? Or is it because Hamish McHaggis never actually went to the event and merely and slavishly copied the drivel from the Scotsman?

Nicholas

A provocative piece guaranteed to result in a posse of Scottish Nationalists descending on the Spectator to refute it. See?

I have come to the conclusion that the Westminster Bubble and its own media posse would be best to stay out of Scottish politics altogether. Leave them alone to sort out their own future.

Funny that, most of the pictures from the BBC showed that most were waving the Saltire rather than the union flag, and there was Chris Hoy draped in a Saltire. As for Alex Salmond, I really don’t remember him saying one bad word about the Olympics, maybe the author could come up with some examples, and as for the booing, what a small percentage of the few hundred actually in George Square that did so.
Is Hamish MacDonnell actually a real person, or is he a fictitious figure dreamt up as some Westminster lacky’s wet-dream. Whatever he is, he’s way off the mark.

North Brit

The news of the boos lifted my spirits. Salmond, with his ‘Scolympian’ nonsense, got what he deserved.

telemachus

Salmonds mistake is in not recognising that the debate
around independence should examine the best way for redistributing the nation’s
wealth and delivering social and economic justice for vulnerable people.

Independence
could end giving Scotland a low tax, low wage economy

There is the
problem of raising revenue to a level that would sustain current public
spending in the country. Can he really envisage a redistribution of the wealth
in Scotland without influence at a British level? Much of Scotland’s economic
capital is based in London.

That is why reasonable
folk should advocate a fairer redistribution through a British solution where
the wealthy south east of England would subsidise the poorer areas of the
country—including Scotland. This couldn’t be achieved by independence or indeed
by fiscal autonomy(D-Max)

.

Wilhelm

Off topic but I think this is more important. I saw on the news a group of Scots athletes visiting a primary school, many of the children were black. I noticed the black kids were fascinated by the GOLD medals that the sportsmen were wearing around their neck. I thought to myself they really love the colour gold, don’t they ? It’s hardwired into their DNA to like bright shiny glittery things. It’s all about bling bling to them.

Wilhelm
What a nice little racist comment. I presume it wouldn’t occur to you for even one moment that it was the MEDAL they were interested in?
Is your name Wilhelm from King Billy of Orange Order fame

Wilhelm

Dercavalier

I quite agree, it is racist towards the indigenous inhabitants that our ruling elites are letting in millions of bantus, so that we Anglo Saxons and Celts will eventually become a minority in our own country. 94 % of primary schools in London are majority black, a frightening statistic.

telemachus

As a Hugenot immigrant I decry this further evidence of the failure of moderation of racism

Wilhelm

You mean like censoring and suppressing the truth ?

telemachus

No-declining to support incitement.

Redneck

telemachus

Are you a Timelord?
Don’t get too many Hugenots coming over on the axles of lorries from Calais these days.
Is there still a lot of persecution of your people going on in the foothills of the Pyrenees?

Daniel Maris

Wasn’t that the Cathars?

The thought of Huguenot Telemachus patiently attending to his lace-making certainly raises a smile.

Redneck

Daniel Maris

Very good! A Telemachus doily would be a sight for sore eyes.

My geography may be a little off: I was think of that bit of la belle France west of Pau? Perhaps Telemachus could enlighten us?

telemachus

Been here for a good few centuries.
Remember our persecution started long before Wilhelm received his marching orders from Bismarck

Daniel Maris

I see you mention the Celts…What exactly is this blood bond between the red haired Irish, the swarthy Welsh and the blond Saxons?

Fergus Pickering

Are you telling me that a London that includes Twickenham and Wimbledon and Harrow is one where 94% of the primary schools have a black majority. Are chinese, cypriots, indians etc etc counted as black? They would not say they were black. Incidentally, I went to school in Edinburgh where I was certainly in a racial minority (for the Scots insist they are a race, do they not?) and I survived. Just. I think the figures must be for Inner London and I agree they are disquieting, but not quite the end of civilisation as we know it But then. I do not subscribe to the view that the white race is superior to all others. I find many underclass white people to be ignorant, violent and lacking in moral sense. I had rather my child were educated with well-brought-up immigrants than with these people.

Fergus Pickering

Are you telling me that a London that includes Twickenham and Wimbledon and Harrow is one where 94% of the primary schools have a black majority. Are chinese, cypriots, indians etc etc counted as black? They would not say they were black. Incidentally, I went to school in Edinburgh where I was certainly in a racial minority (for the Scots insist they are a race, do they not?) and I survived. Just. I think the figures must be for Inner London and I agree they are disquieting, but not quite the end of civilisation as we know it But then. I do not subscribe to the view that the white race is superior to all others. I find many underclass white people to be ignorant, violent and lacking in moral sense. I had rather my child were educated with well-brought-up immigrants than with these people.

Redneck

dercavalier

Your comments cause most of us, abiding in the North, nothing but shame. Your insults to others here do not resonate with me.

What was the origin of your “King Billy of Orange Order fame” comment?

Daniel Maris

I think he is Irish.He gets very upset if you mention Irish criminality as a response to his mention of Black criminality.

telemachus

WTF has this to do with Salmonds membership of the Tories?

Wilhelm

It makes the idea of independence a bit pointless if they’re going to fill the whole country up with bantus.

telemachus

In which case I have to agree with dercavalier

Daniel Maris

Yes, you never see white Irish travellers wearing gold do you?

telemachus

Not sure what this means
Are you supporting Wilhelm’s extreme racialism or introducing an Irish arm to the racial debate?
Difficult to follow these arguments the was Disqus sorts the 3rd generation comments

Wilhelm

Maris has come round to my way of thinking, he’s finally seen the light. Congratulations, I knew you could do it.

Robert Castlereagh

Well said
Salmond’s deplorable performance in Scottish
Parliament over the recent Murdoch debacle is testimony to a leader and a party
who, despite occasional caring rhetoric, are firmly in the grip of a big
business agenda.

To wit Salmond has dropped
the promise he made in 2007 to eradicate fuel poverty in Scotland

He is in truth a closet Tory.

telemachus

Like Cameron Salmond and the Murdochs are hand in glove

dercavalier

At the last recent Westminster Government reckoning Scotland was the third richest part of the UK after London and South East England. It doesn’t need any subsidies.

WhyDidTheTorysHijackTheParade

I was there and to say the above piece is an exaggerated, basically untrue, pile o pish is understatement of the century.

WLKerr

I was there too and the booing was loud and clear and noticed by interviewer who had to pause in her question. The SNP should not try to re-write this history when there 10000 of us there only yesterday.

soosider3

were you part of teh small booing section at the front, because that is the only boos there were, anyway how bloody rude to spoil a great day for our athletes with your petty point scoring

Peter Shea

Who is this “us” you claim to speak for?

BT supporters appear to have become very adapt at claiming supporters that don’t exist such as Chris Hoy and Lorraine Kelly. There’s almost a hubristic arrogance creeping into everything they do.

Like your comment suggests he was only booed and by all 10,000. Yet as the video above shows the booers were soon drowned out by the cheerers. Not that they were cheering Salmond but getting in with the real spirit of the event rather than trying to hijack it as part of their smear Salmond campaign – which appears to be the depth of debate we have from BT so far.

Or do you approve of politicising such events as the other link above shows? Not think it was a bit rude of BT supporters to disturb the flow of a celebration like that?

PS – What is it you find so attractive about decisions being made for Scotland by a Westminster parliament where Scotland has only 4% of the directly elected representatives? Why are you so keen on allowing the likes of Nadine Dorries, Adrian Burley, George Galloway to decide taxation and welfare in Scotland?

dercavalier

To others on this site. WLKerr is lying like the good Labour Activist he is. Go and look at the You Tube video linked above by Another DaveB to see the truth. The booing lasted all of 1 sec and was then overwhelmed by cheering. And AS was cheered at the end too.

Stuart Eels

I do wish you well in your endeavours on your fight for freedom and truth and Indepence, hopefully then you can argue amongst yourselves and we can rebuild Adrians Wall.

It’s English. Will your hatred continue after your “independence” or will you have to find someone else to blame for all your grievances?

dercavalier

The only grievances I see nowadays are those from the English. Go and look at the comments sections or even the above the line articles about Scotland in your ‘Quality’ (LOL) Newspapers. Both locations are full of the english whining and crying and making anti-Scottish remarks, many racist, about the Scots dumping you. Or just examine this article and comments here in the Spectator. As I’ve said many times, if you don’t like it up you, don’t try to put it up others. The days when the English could freely insult others without retaliation in their biased Press are gone.

William, Duke of Cumberland

Oh, I do. They are full of whining Scots like yoursel’. England has been long blighted by this, in more ways than one, and many of us will be glad to see the back of you. When your socialist paradise comes crashing down and you all start blaming each other (well, it won’t be Thatcher then will it?) the schadenfreude will be delicious.

dercavalier

“schadenfreude” Is that a big word you picked up somewhere but don’t really know the meaning of? You have avoided answering my description of the whiners from England.
Joke: What’s the difference between and air raid siren and an Englishman? Answer: The whining and moaning from the siren can be turned off.

William, Duke of Cumberland

I know the meaning alright, as do you. It means the pleasure I will feel at the inevitable misfortunes of the “independent” Scots are they buckle to Europe and Barroso rather than Britain. Still, you lot have been there with Spain and France before, conniving at the expense of your closest neighbours and fellow Britons.

I haven’t avoided answering anything because you never asked anything. Your mask slipped and you reverted to your natural state of Anglophobia, blaming the English. And the funniest thing about your “joke” is that the English don’t whine and moan anywhere near as much or as loudly as the Scots with an inferiority complex and so much insecurity that a slippery chancer like Salmond can lead them by the nose to a promised land – in Europe.

dercavalier

to King Billy of Cumbernauld
ROTFLMAO. Well if that isn’t whining and a-wailing I’m a Englishman. And there is also a very high dose of xenophobia towards the Scots mixed in with the rubbish. Another Joke. Q: How can one tell that an aircraft which has recently landed is from England. A. Easy! When the engines are switched off there is still a loud whining noise coming from the plane.

William, Duke of Cumberland

No. As with your “some English bigots” so my “some Scotch bigots”, including you. I happen to like the Scots as a people and many as individuals. I don’t like the Scottish Nationalists though as they confuse patriotism and xenophobia.

Hexhamgeezer

‘The only grievances I see nowadays are those from the English’
Truly, in the Kingdom of the Blind (drunk?) the one eyed man is King.

dercavalier

To Hexham geezer
Says a man who no doubt spends his Saturday evenings lying blind drunk in his vomit in Newcastle City Centre along with his fellow countrymen in town centres all over England.

Hexhamgeezer

The Nats have a legitimate case for independence. I just wish they would go for it rather than simply opting for a more direct rule from Brussels. Salmond is not offering independence. Enjoy Brussels and the Euro. I would, if I had a say, help you get it.
Scotland gives the UK more than it receives? – great super smashing – it’s just curious Salmond and his pasty faced cohorts are so reluctant to take the plunge. Take your money and give it to Brussels instead – sounds like a plan.
Just as soon as you go I’ll be setting up a little stall on the A68 with a big sign (written by someone else of course) saying ‘ Cheap English Booze Here’ . I might even employ you front of house.

dercavalier

I don’t hate the ordinary English person. But I do hate bigots like you and thankfully people like you are few and far between. I see my role on web sites like this as … to correct lies written by journalists, to ensure FACTS are disseminated, and very importantly return insult with insult.

William, Duke of Cumberland

Ah, the “I’m the only reasonable one here” gambit. Review your own comments. It is clear that you DO hate the English.

dercavalier

Well, well pot and kettle come to mind. But I have more important things to do than trawl through the racist trash you write here. And that is my last reply to you. You are obviously too stupid to take to heart any facts you receive.

William, Duke of Cumberland

You wrote “Typical english! Can’t even spell (or more likely doesn’t know)” before I even posted a comment so I’ll take no lectures on pot and kettle from you. Run away with your tail between your legs little man.

dercavalier

ROTFLMAO uncontrollably now. You english don’t even know when you are being insulted.

dercavalier

I’m not claiming to be … “the only reasonable one here…”. I’m being very unreasonable and insulting towards you and the other xenophobes on this site.

facts123

Moron adrians war is in scotland both sides are scotland read up on
georgraphy or history either will tell u the romans put it up

facts123

embarresed i meant england ud be cutting off part ur own country but after reading some of theese posts i can tell england doesnt even like themselves that much and wouldnt really care

Stuart Eels

I may be a moron for not spelling Hadrian’s Wall correctly but I’m an English moron which is far better than being a Scottish moron who thought it was adrians war.
Yes the Romans built it to keep the Picts at bay, whatever happened to those poor souls after you Scoti had your wicked way. Quite happy to have a new wall built on England’s side of the border and to call it the Sanity Wall!

dercavalier

Eh!!!!???? Are you smoking something which gives you delusions? Or is that really your idea of Scottish history?

dercavalier

Eh!!!!???? Are you smoking something which gives you delusions? Or is that really your idea of Scottish history?

james102

Maybe we are waking up to the fact that party labels are just brands of the same product.
The Conservatives were booed in London. Labour politicians would have been if they had power. Despite the fact that none of them have real power any more.